1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of document management. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved document folder blank construction that can be printed by single-sided printers prior to being folded.
2. Related Art
Organizations which require significant amounts of paperwork employ a variety of document filing methods in order to easily access this paperwork. The basic document filing method utilizes folders constructed of heavy paper or cardboard, each of which stores a set of related documents. For example, a medical office might store documents pertaining to an individual patient in a single folder. A bank might store documents pertaining to a specific loan account in a single folder. These folders are maintained side-by-side on a shelf or in a container, such as a file drawer. The folders are typically ordered sequentially on the shelf or in the container according to some convenient scheme, for example alphabetically by last name or numerically by social security number. The folders are labeled according to the chosen sequence for ease of filing, that is the location, retrieval and storage of document folders.
The document management industry has long offered various document folders and methods of labeling these folders to streamline the document filing process. For example, a folder can be pre-printed with identifying categories such as NAME, SUBJECT and FILE NUMBER. Specific identifying information can then be handwritten on the folder according to these categories or an appropriate printed label can be applied. Hand-labeling folders, however, is labor intensive. Further, location of a specific folder requires reading the identifying information on several folders until the desired folder is located.
Color-coded folders are offered to assist the folder filing process. A specific color can be designated to correspond to a particular category of documents. For example, a bank might use yellow folders corresponding to loan documents, blue folders corresponding to savings accounts, etc. Such color coding allows categories of documents to be quickly filed without the need to read and search for specific folder identifying information. This filing system, however, also requires handwritten identification of specific folders. Another drawback to pre-printed and colored folders is the need to maintain an inventory of each unique type of folder. More folder types facilitate filing but increase inventory requirements.
Color-coded labels are offered which can be applied to a folder tab. A tab is the extended portion of the folder used for sight reference when folders are stored in sequence and serves the same purpose as a book spine. The tab is located to be visible when the folder is stored alongside other folders on a shelf or in a container. A drawback to this folder identification scheme, however, is that the application of the color-coded labels is labor-intensive. Also, manually folded and applied labels are prone to misregistration on the folder tab. These drawbacks become more pronounced as the number of folders in this type of filing system increases.
In addition to efficient document filing methods, the document management industry has offered so-called paperless systems that reduce or eliminate the need to handle physical documents. Image capture systems either photograph documents, storing the documents as micrographic images, or scan documents, storing the documents as digital images on a mass storage device such as compact disk, read-only memory (CD-ROM). A collection of stored document images forms an image database equivalent to a document filing system.
As in any database system, efficient image database access requires an indexing method; much like an index in the back of a book allows quick location of information within the book. An image database is often indexed by attaching a xe2x80x9cdocument labelxe2x80x9d printed with a unique document identifier to the first page of each document. For example, if the document relates to an individual""s file, the document identifier may be the individual""s social security number (SSN) concatenated with an abbreviation representing the type of document. Specifically, if a loan application (LA) was filed by an individual with the SSN 012-34-5678, the document label attached to the loan application might be printed with the identifier xe2x80x9c012345678LA.xe2x80x9d The database index can then simply reference that document by that identifier. The identifier is typically printed in xe2x80x9cmachine-recognizablexe2x80x9d form, such as bar codes or optical character recognition (OCR) fonts, along with text.
Another use for document labels is for xe2x80x9celement verification,xe2x80x9d i.e. verification that all documents which belong in a folder are present. Without document labels, element verification is often done manually. A manual element verification system might have each document that should be in a folder listed on the folder front panel. Verification would consist of checking-off each document on the list if it is contained in the folder. If document labels are used, a bar code wand interfaced to a computer can be used to scan the label of each document in a folder. A computer software routine would then automatically verify the index values read from the document labels against a computerized list of documents.
For new files, element verification is used to determine when a folder contains a complete set of documents. In the banking industry, for example, element verification might be used to determine if all documents necessary to evaluate a home loan have been received: the application, credit reports, appraisals, etc. For existing files, element verification serves an auditing function, i.e. verification that no documents are lost or misplaced. Using a banking industry example again, element verification might be used to audit the documentation for various home mortgages prior to sale of the mortgages to another financial institution.
A drawback to image capture systems and automated element verification systems is that document preparation is difficult and labor intensive. Separately printed document labels must first be matched to a specific folder and then to the documents in that folder. These two matching processes are time consuming and complicated by the fact that the document and tab labels are typically generated by different printing processes, adding the step of first matching a tab label to a specific folder. A further drawback to image capture systems is that, typically, all documents to be photographed or scanned are first separated from their folders. The documents are then processed in mass with the documents from each folder being separated by single sheets, called xe2x80x9cdocument separators.xe2x80x9d The document separators have a bar code label with a xe2x80x9cnullxe2x80x9d value not corresponding to any document label bar code values and located at a specific location. The document separators are recognized by the scanning system as indications of the end of the documents associated with one folder and the beginning of the documents associated with another folder. In this manner, the document images from each folder are kept separate. Typically, however, the document separator itself conveys no other information to the scanning system. That is, the scanning system must read the document page following the document separator in order to identify the folder associated with the next documents to be processed. Ultimately, the documents must be manually reunited with their folders, and documents can be inadvertently placed in the wrong folder with potentially catastrophic results. Another drawback is that a complete set of document labels is typically printed for each folder in a file. Many folders, however, might contain only a small subset of documents, wasting the bulk of the pre-printed labels.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention involves a folder blank comprising a first panel and a second panel. The first panel is connected to the second panel and the first and second panels are capable of being folded to form a folder sized to hold documents of the type ordinarily found in a business office. The first panel comprises an elongated tab extending at least partially along one side of the folder blank. The tab comprises a length, a width and an edge surface that extends along the length of the tab. The tab is foldable along a first fold line extending along the length of the tab and extending parallel to the one side of the folder blank, whereby when the tab is folded along the first fold line any identifying indicia which may be printed on the tab on one side of the first fold line can be seen from the front of the folder and any identifying indicia which may be printed on the tab on the other side of the first fold line can be seen from the back of the folder. The second panel includes an elongated portion extending at least partially along the one side of the folder blank. The elongated portion comprises a length, a width and an edge surface that extends along the length of the elongated portion. The elongated portion is foldable along a second fold line extending along the length of the elongated portion and extending parallel to the one side of the folder blank, whereby when the tab is folded along the second fold line the elongated portion reinforces at least a portion of the second panel.
Another aspect of the present invention involves a folder blank comprising a first flap and a second flap. The first flap and the second flap are separated by a first flap fold line. The first flap has a first length and a first width. The second flap has a second length and a second width. The blank also comprises a first tab and a second tab. The first tab is foldable about a first tab fold line and the second tab is foldable about a second tab fold line. The first tab fold line is disposed such that when the first tab is folded about the first tab fold line an indicia which may be printed on the first tab on one side of the first tab fold line can be seen from a front side of the folder and any identifying indicia which may be printed on the first tab on an opposite side of the first tab fold line can be seen from a back side of the folder.
A further aspect of the present invention involves a folder blank comprising a first panel and a second panel connected to the first panel. The first panel and the second panel together forms a folder for holding documents. The first panel includes an elongated tab on one edge. The tab has a length and a width. The tab has a fold line extending along the length of the tab parallel to the one edge of the first panel. The fold line divides the width of the tab into a first portion and a second portion, whereby when the tab is folded along the fold line the first portion is the front side of a completed folder tab and the second portion is the back side of the completed folder tab. The folder further comprising identifying indicia printed on at least a portion of the front side and substantially identical indicia printed on a corresponding portion of the back side of the completed folder tab. The indicia comprises a repeating pattern of a plurality of color bars.